Deltarune Seam Plush
He he... Welcome, travelers!
Anyone who's familiar with Toby Fox's RPG Deltarune will remember Seam, the charming old shopkeep. And if you're anything like me, as soon as you see a canon stuffie in your favorite media: you want it.
This pattern is pretty difficult, especially the coat, and requires a lot of both machine and hand-sewing! There will be complicated ladder stitches to attach pieces together, visible running stitches that need to look neat, and a lot of embroidery.
Definitely not a beginner project, but if you've already got some basic sewing knowledge under your belt I'll be doing my best to walk you though and make the process clear, even if it won't be simple.
I have more pictures to add as I work out the kinks but if you have any questions please let me know so I can incorporate them in!
Update Nov 2022: Separated some of the steps into shorter ones to make things more clear.
Supplies
Tools:
- Sewing needle, embroidery needle, and a tiny needle for beads
- Thread in purple, black, orange, & brown
- Sewing machine & related parts (only needs to be able to do a running stitch and wide zig-zag)
- Scissors
- Seam ripper
- Pliers & wire cutters
- An Altoids tin or another tin of a similar size
- Tape
Plush Materials:
- Purple minky fur fabric (mine had the weird little dots but they mostly disappeared when the stuffing stretched it out)
- Orange fabric of the same kind
- Lighter purple fleece or minky fur
- Orange, Yellow, Blue, and Purple yarn (not a whole lot, the purple and orange should match the fabric if possible)
- Black felt for the nose
- Thick but bendable wire for the tail
- 2 lbs stuffing of your choice
- Silver bugle beads (the tiny thin ones)
- Orange felt
- Big orange button
- Black & light purple embroidery thread
Coat materials:
- Brown tweed or similar fabric for outer layer
- Brown felt or similar fabric for lining
- 2 brown buttons
- Black or brown leather (or faux leather)
- Black elastic chord or other leather/woven chord of a similar width
- Orange & black thick fabric
- Orange & black embroidery thread
Jevil key:
- Silver or light grey felt
- Silver or light grey thread
- Two tiny jingle bells
- Little piece of velcro (both sides)
- Skewer or toothpick for stuffing
Cut Plush Patterns
The arrows show the direction of the fur. All the patterns here need a 1/4 inch seam allowance added to them.
Cut the inner ear patterns out of the orange minky and the paws out of the light purple fleece. Cut all the other head, arm, and body pieces out of the purple minky, make sure to look at the patterns for which need to be mirrored.
Set aside two mirrored body pieces as the front, and two as the back. Mark the arms on both, but only mark the gap and tail measurements on the back sections.
The mouth and eye scar are orange felt, and the nose and head patch are black felt.
Keep in mind the weave of your main minky fabric. Unfortunately with the direction of the fur in mind you won't be able to adjust for the weave. It tended to make the nose of mine stretch a little too far out into more of a dog shape, so just be aware of it as you go.
Make Yarn Wefts
Get out that Altoids tin! We're making yarn wefts.
Yarn wefts are a bunch of short pieces of yarn sewn together with a single long piece in the middle. To get the effect like the shading on Seam's artwork, I used both purple and blue yarn for the fur wefts.
For the head you will need about 4 inches of an orange/yellow weft, and a lot of blue/purple. You will need even more for the tail.
To make the lengths, tape the end of the yarn to the tin then start wrapping it around. You want to wrap around the short way. Don't pull to tight or your yard will stretch and when you cut it off it won't be as long. Wrap until you've got about 1/4 inch built up around the tin, then cut and tape down the other end. Carefully slide your scissors between the yarn and the tin and cut through all the yarn at once. Do this on both sides. You should now have two bundles of yarn at approximately the same length. Do this with all four colors.
Cut a new length of purple yarn, about two feet, and fold it in half. Set your sewing machine to the widest zig-zag and about 2 length, with purple or blue thread. Place the folded yarn onto the machine bed with enough hanging out the back for you to hold onto, and sew back and forth a little to get it started. Next, grab a little bit of purple and a little bit of blue and mix them up for effect, trying to get a good variety. I'd start with about six strands from each at a time but you can do bigger bundles once you get the hang of it. Slide the yarn bundle so it's just under the foot and sitting centered on top of your long folded yarn. Then you can sew it on, carefully holding the other end of the long yarn behind it to pull it through. Backtrack a little so the foot is sitting on top of your just-sewn wefts, and repeat until you have just enough of your backbone yarn to hang onto.
Clip off the excess yarn and thread on both sides.
This is the most time-consuming part of the process, but it's worth it for the handmade effect!
The Ears
Sew the ears together inside out and flip them rightside out. Take your orange/yellow wefts and line a them up along the bottom of the ear. Fold over the top part of the ear as shown and sew everything in place with a blanket stitch.
Sew Together the Head
Sew the front face pieces and nose pieces together to form the front of the face, and the two head pieces for the back of the head.
Next you will sew the front of the head to the back, sandwiching a layer of yarn wefts in between. Line up on the front where the ears will go, pointing downward into the head with the raw edge lining up with the edge of the face. Behind them, on the side facing the back of the head, fold the purple/blue yarn weft in half and place it so all the yarn points inward as well. Start the end of the yarn at the top of one ear and circle downward around the face, even across where the neck will be, and end it at the top of the other ear, leaving a blank section at the top of the head. The long backbone yarn should line up with the raw edge of the face.
Line up the back of the head with all of this and pin. You should have a ball with a seam running along the middle, the yarn wefts and ears on the inside. Hand-sew around the seam with a blanket stitch, making sure to get all layers of fabric and the backbone yarn with every stitch. Don't forget to leave the neck hole at the bottom open!
Once it's done, carefully turn it inside out. The ears and yarn should stick out of the seam, with the purple wefts behind the ears and no yarn at the top of the head.
Fill in the Back of the Head
You'll notice though that the back looks rather bald! Using more wefts, sew them in three lines across the back of the head, the top one should curve slightly to make room for the patch that will be on the top of the head. The back should look like a pom-pom! Stuff the head but don't sew anything closed.
Thread Sculpting
With a new thread, stick your needle in the eye mark and push it through to the back of the head. Pull it just a little until the knot makes a divot in the eye socket area. Go back through a couple of times to strengthen it, then do it for the other eye as well. This adds a little more realistic sculpting to the face shape, and will be covered by the eyes.
Add the Face!
Cut out the mouth, eyes, and head patch patterns and maneuver them until you are satisfied with the placing. Sew the mouth and eye scar with orange thread and the black eye and head patch with black thread.
Next, get your embroidery needle and black thread ready. The embroidery thread will add the "stitches" to our already stitched-up stuffie. Add a few stitches to either side of the head patch. Using a backstitch, outline the eye scar and mouth pieces with a solid line of stitching. Add a little extra at the corners of the mouth, and the "teeth" stitches that stretch across it. I added a couple more than what are seen in his resting sprite, for character. At either end of the "teeth" stitches add a little french knot.
Under the black eye add the long wrinkle, looking carefully at the original art to match it. Sew on the big orange button for his second eye and the head is finished!
Assemble the Legs
For the front legs:
First sew the light purple "paw" pieces to the end of the inner leg, then attach the two halves of the legs together. Leave the opposite end of the leg open for turning.
For the back legs:
First sew the two halves together, leaving an opening along the bottom for turning and stuffing. Next sew the "paw" pieces on to the front of the legs.
Turn all four legs and stuff them. I generally stuffed mine pretty tight but it's up to your taste. Sew the end of the front legs up with a blanket stitch (this will be hidden inside the body) and sew the back legs up with a hidden or ladder stitch.
Sculpting the Paws
Thread your embroidery needle with the light purple embroidery thread and tie it. Carefully slide the needle through at the seam between the leg and the paw so when you pull it the knot slides through to the inside of the stuffie. Using the pattern as a guide, wrap the thread around the end of the paw and back into the same hole, pulling it tight to define the toes. Go along each to division twice to make it solid.Withe some careful maneuvering you should be able to get all four toe lines done with one thread. Tie it off and stick the needle back into the hole and into the depths of the leg so you can just barely pull it through. Pull it taught and clip it off as close as you can, so when the plush springs back the thread end will be completely hidden inside the leg.
For the claws thread your normal needle with purple thread and start the same way inside the plush. You'll want four bugle beads of a round the same length and not too long. You may need an even smaller needle to fit through them, even twice if you can. They should be centered on each toe and end at the line between the light purple and dark purple fabrics.
Assemble the Body and Arms
First sew the two front body pieces together, then the two back pieces leaving a hole in the back for turning later. Pin the front half to the back half and position the front legs where shown, making sure to get the correct sides so the paw side will face the front when turned. Sew the two halves together, leaving the space at the top of the neck.
Stuff the body to the best of your capabilities with the holes still open, it's necessary for getting correct placement of the bottom legs.
Attach Head and Lower Limbs
Line up the bottom legs as shown and pin them in place, adjusting the position until they're even and allow the body to stand up on it's own. One at a time, sew these on at the hips with a ladder stitch, pulling it nice and tight so the threads are hidden. This takes some finagling and awkward stitching but it's worth it!
The head will be sewn on in a similar way. Fold the raw edge of the neck inward on both the head and the body and line up carefully to pin. Then ladder stitch around the neck until both sides are attached (I did two passes). The yarn of the mane will hide any messiness so just make sure they're properly attached and there's still a hole from the body into the head.
Add a little more stuffing to bulk it out and you're almost there!
The Tail
The tail is made from a piece of wire with many yarn wefts wrapped around it.
First, curl one end of the wire into a little loop. This will make it possible to sew the wefts to it. Take one end of a purple/blue weft and sew it onto this loop, wrapping multiple times around the backbone yarn and making sure it's properly attached. Next, start wrapping the yarn weft tightly and evenly down the wire. How spaced apart your wrapping is depends on how full you want the tail to look and how many wefts you're willing to make. If you run out of weft, simply sew the end of a new on to the end of the old one and keep going.
When you're satisfied with the fluffyness of the tail, sew the last end onto the wire and keep it in place with a little drop of glue (you can do this at the tip as well but it isn't necessary for the whole length unless you really don't want it to move). Carefully give it a bit of a trim, you want it to be around the same length with a little taper at the tip.
You're now ready to attach it!
Attach the Tail
Poke the wire end through the seam an inch or so below the open section of the back. You should have a couple inches of wire sticking into the plush. Working through the open hole, bend the end of the wire into a spiral with the tail sticking perpendicular from the center. This gives the tail more support and provides a lot of surface area to sew it on. Carefully go along the spiral, sewing it to the fabric of the butt. Any stitches will be hidden in all the yarn
Now you can finish stuffing the body and sew the last opening closed with a ladder stitch. And you're done with the body! Trim any distractedly long yarn on the head, bun in general it should stay pretty wild. If you like you can stop here, or move on to his coat.
Cut the Coat Patterns
Cut the patterns for the coat and sleeves. You'll want two of everything.
The measurements for the cuffs are on the patterns but here they are as well:
Coat cuffs:
Cut 2: 1.5 x 7.5in outer
Cut 2: 1 x 7.5in lining
The weave of the fabric does not matter too much here, but try to get it so it stretches around the circumference of the plush if you can.
Sew the Coat Base
Sew together the two back sides of the coat, then add the two side pieces at the shoulder seams only. Flatten the coat out and center the sleeve sections on the shoulders. Pin in place and sew. You should have a sort of cross pattern with the two sleeves sticking out to either side and the front and back of the coat forming the center. Fold the whole thing in half so the front and back pieces of the coat line up along the side seams and the sleeves line up along to bottom to form a tube. Sew from the edge of the sleeve, along it to the armpit, then take a right turn and down to the hem of the coat. Turn it inside out and you should have what looks like a coat!
(You'll notice on my first run I kept the bottom edge open instead. This was a mistake and it's a lot cleaner if you leave the neck open)
Iron the seams flat with the fabric folding to either side.
Repeat this process for your lining fabric.
With the outer layer inside out and the lining right-side facing outward, fit the two layers into each other. They should line up perfectly, with the wrong sides of both fabrics facing outward and the right sides hidden inside. Pin along the bottom edge and the front seams and sew. You should be able to reach through the neck seam and pull the coat right-side out. The sleeves will give you a little trouble but with enough finagling you'll be able to get it looking like a proper coat with everything in the right place and the lining neatly attached.
Line up the side and back seams of the lining with those of the outer layer. This step isn't necessary but will make the coat stronger and more professional looking. Make sure the fabric is pressed to either side of the seams. Sew a line 1/4 inch away on either side of each seam in a brown thread (refer to the pictures). Also do this along the bottom and front edge seams. This will flatten out all your seams, especially if you're using felt which tends to not like being ironed.
Try it on!
The Cuffs
First off, hand sew a loose running stitch along the edge of the cuffs. While it's on the plush, fold them over to your desired length and pin.
Take your cuff outer layer and sew the two sides together to form a circle. Slide the circle onto the sleeve (you'll want it to be off the plush now). Now fold and tuck the wrist edge 1/4 inch over into the seam so the raw edge is hidden between the cuff and the sleeve. The edge of the sleeve should not have any raw edges.
Sew a running stitch 1/4 inch from the edge through the sleeve layers and the cuff. It should look like the other seams of the coat, only this one you only did the visible seam and not the hidden one. Real cuffs have more complicated situations but this one is small and the fabric is thick for the scale so this technique works best.
Take your cuff lining and sew it into a loop, then slide the loop onto the sleeve and underneath the cuff The cuff should hide it completely and overlap a little. Fold over this overlap at the end of the cuff so it goes tightly under the lining, completely encasing it. Sew a running stitch 1/4 inch away from the bottom edge of the cuff, attaching the outer layer to the sleeve with the cuff lining sandwiched in between.
I know that was a lot of work but now you have to repeat it for the other sleeve!
Coat Ruff
Time for the fun part, the iconic orange/yellow ruff at the neck!
There's some question as to whether this ruff is part of his coat or part of him, as the fur does match the ear tufts. I simply attached it to the coat to make everything easier on myself.
Fold the two sides of the neck seam inward 1/4 inch so the raw edge is hidden and sew a running stitch along it (doesn't have to be too nice, it will be hidden). Next fold your orange/yellow yarn weft in half and line up the backbone yarn with the edge of the neck. Using a blanket stitch, attach the weft. Again, everything will be hidden by all the yarn!
Coat Buttons
Cut the pieces for the loop anchors out of leather or faux leather.
You'll notice they're a sort of flat, curved isosceles triangle with two shorter sides. Layer the two pieces on top of each other, right sides out, and running stitch along the two shorter sides, leaving the long one open for the loop. Stick the two ends of the loop chord into the little pocket and sew the end closed around them. Make two.
With the coat on the plush, maneuver the loops and buttons around until you like the placement. On mine the upper button is mostly hidden by the ruff. Sew on the loop anchors first with a whip stitch and then add the buttons. They don't need to close tightly, the coat will mostly stay on on it's own anyway, but should look nice and taught when looped.
Patches!
I cut a couple patches in orange and black. These don't need to be super strong so I skipped the attachment step with the normal thread and went straight for the embroidery thread in a contrasting color. After the patches were on add a couple more stitches and hatches in the embroidery thread. These add a cartoony sewn-up look as well as some hatching for character. Remember, less is more! Try to hold yourself back from adding these absolutely everywhere. I went with three patches and a handful of extra embroidery, along with some blanket stitches along the hem which also fixed up my messy seam. Have fun but remember to keep it controlled.
Jevil Key
Who knows of the key that kept the mysterious Jevil imprisoned? Why it's our old pal Seam.
This is optional! Just a fun thing I decided to add.
There's no canonical design for the key so i based it loosely off Jevil's hat (for the top) and scythe (for the bottom). Cut both sides out of felt and carefully blanket stitch the edges together, using a toothpick or skewer to stuff it as you go. Start from the end and work up to the top of the hat.
Once it's sewn you can add the bells, just stitch them on with little stitches through the ends of the hat.
Add a little piece of velcro to Seam's paw and the key with a whip stitch and you're done!
Finished!
Put on the coat, attach the key and you're all done! Let me know if you have any comments or questions and ESPECIALLY let me know if you make it!!!
Thanks for reading!
I'll be making updates as I go, I do plan on making nice PDF patterns in the future but for the moment you should be able to save them as images and adjust in your own formatting program of choice. I always try to keep things up-to-date.